North Carolina Will Reconsider Its Transgender Bathroom Law This Week

Wednesday, state lawmakers will gather to consider repealing House Bill 2.

A controversial North Carolina law that restricts bathroom access for transgender individuals will be the subject of a special session of the state's legislature Wednesday - and the incoming governor said that he had been assured by lawmakers that the law would be repealed in full. It would also have allowed trans people to use the bathroom that matched their gender identity.

Meanwhile, North Carolina Democrats were taken aback by the strongly worded statement, as Charlotte city officials said they repealed the parts of their ordinance Republicans had requested, as promised.

The bathroom law, which sparked a national controversy, prohibits people from using bathrooms that don't match their biological sex. The law was supported by outgoing Gov.

McCrory - who conceded to Cooper earlier this month after a contentious election and lengthy recount - signed the law last March.

The council's move is contingent on North Carolina fully repealing HB2 by December 31. In May, council members voted against a symbolic repeal of the ordinance.

"I hope they will keep their word to me", Cooper said in a statement earlier in the day, noting a repeal will help bring back jobs and events lost in the boycott. Even with Moore and Berger reportedly orchestrating it, some Republicans are saying they won't go along - and while progressives have been fighting HB2 all year, some are unhappy with the prospect of losing Charlotte's ordinance, which was created to protect the rights of transgender people. Opponents call it discriminatory.

State Sen. Jeff Tarte called the planned repeal of both the Charlotte ordinance and HB2 a "reset".

That special session began Wednesday morning, but was repeatedly delayed by a series of recesses. That bill puts a six-month moratorium on any municipal nondiscrimination revisions, said state Rep. Chris Sgro, a Democrat and an openly gay legislator.

But Republican lawmakers, who control the state house, say the city's repeal of its ordinance may not be enough for it to fully repeal HB2, which has caused businesses, major sporting events and performers to cancel or postpone planned events or expansions into the state. Protections for LGBT people, like the ones that Charlotte had passed, are there to ensure that everyone is treated fairly.

The NBA announced in July that it was moving the 2017 All-Star Weekend out of Charlotte over concerns about HB2 - one of the most high-profile hit to the city economy due to the controversial law.

The measure ignited a nationwide backlash against the state.

Signaling ongoing discord, Republican legislative leaders called Cooper dishonest in a statement on Monday afternoon, while acknowledging they would heed McCrory's call.

Some Republicans aren't convinced McCrory's defeat and the ordinance's repeal is simply a coincidence.

North Carolina also suffered huge economic losses after HB2's passage.

In a statement, McCrory press secretary Graham Wilson blamed state Democrats for politicizing the situation.